For a brief period, legendary Nashville songwriter Roger Miller was more than just the award-winning, chart-topping musical force behind Big River. He was also an actor in the Broadway production. Only problem was, according to his widow Mary Miller, every night he’d change things up just a little, throwing off the rest of the cast.

That, it seems, is one of the things Miller did best: throwing people off with his wit, charm and brilliance. The name behind country standards like “King of the Road” and “Dang Me,” Miller, who died in 1992, was “constantly reinventing himself, not afraid to try new things.” And the musical, which surprised many by earning seven Tonys including best score in 1985, is proof.

On March 20, Tennessee Repertory Theatre mounts Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as part of its own 25th anniversary season. It’s a close-to-home joy for many involved, including Mary Miller, an area resident who has regaled the company with stories, and musical director Paul Carrol Binkley, who says “King of the Road” was one of the first songs he learned to play on guitar.
The musical tells the long-loved story of one young man’s attempts to help his friend, a slave named Jim, find freedom as they travel down a river of humor, heartwarming relationship and true Americana.

In addition to Patrick Waller as Finn and Bakari King as Jim, the production features Jeff Boyet, Rona Carter, Henry Haggard, Aleta Myles, Carrie Tillis, Larry Tobias, Peter Vann, Samuel Whited and Bobby Wyckoff. As for the musicians, the “non-traditional” pit orchestra will pass the instruments around a bit.

“I just wish Roger were here to see this,” Binkley says. “I think he would appreciate the care we’re giving to it. It’s so much more than just some famous person we’re trying to please. This is like family.”

Trial and error

The piece was Miller’s first foray into musical theater. Talked into it by friend Rocco Landesman, now chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, Miller did virtually no research, his wife recalls. He was one who traditionally avoided the radio so it wouldn’t influence his own work, and found the music for Huckleberry Finn not by diving into Mark Twain’s words, but rather by identifying with the emotions that were present in various scenes.

“He was so naïve about the process,” says Mary Miller, a vocalist who became Roger Miller’s third wife in 1978. “One of the funniest lines of all was, ‘How could we not succeed? We’re so sincere.’”

Bringing the piece together was trial and error over the course of years. It moved from Harvard’s American Repertory Theatre to the La Jolla Playhouse before opening at New York’s Eugene O’Neill Theatre. Though it was well received, the Millers were still told not to expect much when it came time for that year’s Tonys.

“And the experience of the Tonys, the crowd at the time, they weren’t that receptive to Roger,” she says. “I feel like they didn’t totally take him seriously. But I think the music is extraordinary. I don’t care who wrote it. And when he won, it was one of the greatest thrills of his life. He said that night, as he was holding a Tony in front of that rather staid crowd, ‘This is a helluva deal.’ And everyone started laughing. . . . He was just such a ball of creative energy that whatever came out, came out.”

Binkley, a seasoned musical director who has worked often with both the Rep and Nashville Children’s Theatre, says playing Miller’s music is so satisfying and “natural” that he wishes the show would run for six months.

Binkley has worked with producing artistic director René D. Copeland to blur the lines between actors and musicians in the piece, and also focused on “the real essence of what Roger intended with these songs.”

“What amazes me about Big River is that it’s got this scope, this grand, huge bigness to it, but at the same time the music is quite intimate,” he says. “With the exception of a couple of tunes such as ‘Muddy Water’ and ‘River in the Rain,’ which provide an opportunity for big dramatic musical moments, there’s a lot of music that’s really small. . . . It’s amazing. Quite frankly, at the time I first saw it, I kept thinking, ‘How in the world did he get away with that?’ It was brilliant.”

IF YOU GO

What: Tennessee Repertory Theatre presents seven-time Tony Award-winner Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnWhere: Tennessee Performing Arts Center’s Johnson Theater, 505 Deaderick St.When: Sat., March 20 through April 10. Performances at 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays; 7:30 p.m. Fridays. There are also 2:30 p.m. matinees on March 27, April 3 and April 10. Evening performances on April 6 and 10 have already sold out. First Night Supper Club options are available for opening night; see the Rep’s Web site for details.Tickets: Starting at $41.50 through the TPAC box office downtown or at The Mall at Green Hills, the Rep’s Web site or 782-4040; student tickets start at $11.50 with some restrictions.Contact:www.tennesseerep.org or 244-4878